This episode goes out to anyone who’s calling out from work when they weren’t quite as sick as they implied, as this week Emily and Kyle chat all about the word malinger.

Emily starts by diving into this word’s French roots, which once described actual sickly people–and even, perhaps, the MOST sickly person. But this word came to be more associated with fake illness and injury–and not always just little white lies. Kyle learns about where malingering intersects with psychiatry, and the medical tests used to sort fact from fiction.

Our hosts then explore some real cases of falsified symptoms. Malingering has been used for some unsavory goals, such as attempts to use psychology to escape criminal justice. But there are also more positive examples where malingering has helped Jews escape the Holocaust or helped a transgender person transition.

Join us every week as we explore the fascinating origins and meanings of words, uncovering the hidden stories behind language and how it evolves over time, for language enthusiasts and etymology buffs alike.

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Produced by⁠ ⁠Seth Gliksman⁠⁠, Kyle Imperatore, and Emily Moyers

Main theme and accompanying themes by Kyle Imperatore